This history of the largest
block women's organization in the United States is not only the story
of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (DST), but also tells of the increasing
involvement of black women in the political, social, and economic
affairs of America. Founded at a time when liberal arts education was
widely seen as either futile, dangerous, or impractical for blacks,
especially women, DST is, in Giddings's words, a "compelling
reflection of block women's aspirations for themselves and for
society."
Giddings
notes that unlike other organizations with racial goals, Delta Sigma
Theta was created to change and benefit individuals rather than
society. As a sorority, it was formed to bring women together as
sisters, but at the some time to address the divisive, often
class-related issues confronting black women in our society. There
is, in Giddings's eyes, a tension between these goals that makes
Delta Sigma Theta a fascinating microcosm of the struggles of black
women and their organizations.
DST
members have included Mary McLeod Bethune, Mary Church Terrell,
Margaret Murray Washington, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, and, on
the cultural side, Leontyne Price, Lena Horne, Ruby Dee, Judith
Jamison, and Roberta Flack. In
Search of Sisterhood
is full of compelling, fascinating anecdotes told by the Deltas
themselves, and illustrated with rare early photographs of the Delta
women.